After a bout of quite inexcusable laziness thought I better post something up sharpish before this blog falls off utterly everyone's radar into the never-regions of the net. Had a couple of mates actually comment that we had failed to post for a very very long while, which was quite a flattering surprise as I had mostly considered this blog as a way for me and Moleman to share tunes and witter at each other ineloquently. But now I shall think of you the (by this point dwindling to the point of extinction, but yet from word on the street still extant) fanbase.
...so without further a verbose ramble, we have Ayshay:
Ayshay means "whatever", which seems somehow in keeping with a nostalgic nonchalance that pervades this tune, but which simultaneously belies a meditative serenity which subverts a 'whateva' attitude.
Ayshay is a New York City-based artist/DJ born in Senegal and raised in Kuwait who builds music entirely from her own pitched and layered vocals.
...and for the ruder boys & gals amongst ya here's the jungle remix courtesy of Nguzunguzu:
Dear sweet baby Jesus, son of Mary, but not of Joseph... this is a release and a half.
Appleblim has been one of my absolute favourite DJs since the release of the phenomenal Dubstep Allstars Vol. 6 which I have listened to again and again (and to anyone who hasn't I strongly advise you to remedy this posthaste via link).
I believe it was the excellent Brighton DJ HertzProductions (from whom I have a stellar mix waiting in the wings) who first drew Appleblim's collaboration with Ramadanman, a sterling producer in his own right, to my attention. The pair initially released Jusitfy, not a bad tune by any measure, but with Void 23 the partnership comes of age. As Mole in his infinite wisdom remarked, the synergy you have between the two producers is such that you're unable to tell whose responsible for which elements, as is often written so clearly across big name collaborations.
The tune opens well with atmospheric textures of rustled wind chimes and indistinguishable mutters. Then such a sweet drop. No lairy bassline needed, just a fucking stomping kick drum. As with so many rightminded individuals the pair seem to be moving progressively towards a techy house vibe that is right up my street.
There are many clever touches throughout. The gloopy bass that slouches nastily along the bridge at 4mins30 or the iron platted snare that could cave skulls at 5mins35. That these aren't even the main hooks of the tune, but subplots emphasises the quality.
The main hook, as it should be, is the beat, the rhythm which runs through the two distinct halves. Underwater pads provide the colour in the first section while a taut but building synth line dominates the latter half.
As Resident Advisor puts it this bad boy is streamlined for 'the dark catacombs of sonic bliss beneath the pavements of London and Berlin.' However Brighton's beginning to get up to speed as shown by the massive Dubpressure 5th birthday@Life on 10th Dec with Appleblim and Shakleton that you'd be a plum fool to miss.
The tune deservedly gets a famous remixer for the B-Side. I am a big fan of Carl Craig, even if he does need to show a little more restraint when it comes to expressing his enthusiasm viz. grunting over mixes like a neanderthalic sexpest. That said I am hardly in a position to criticise exuberant verbal expression of musical pleasure. Though I hope I am a touch more articulate.
Carl does what he does best re-editing the tune into a straight up techno killer, more pacy but maintaining the funk and swing of the original.
New night in Brighton. Trying to resist its summons as have early appointment in Notting Hill upon the Sunday morn. But with the draw of 'the bumpiest slowjams and the freshest upfront house and funky cuts, 1980's Miami decor and vodka watermellons' my resolve is already beginning to buckle.
Can't say for sure as this is their first outing but if mix and my knowledge of the DJs excellent ears is anything to go by - which it is - Saturday should be swelling with soul and full of funk, so come swing your sexy hips.
Saturday 13th November Jam Bar, Middle St, BN1 1AL 11-4am £5/4NUS/£3 before 11 18+
Some recent news that many people (including myself) are rubbing their sweaty hands in anticipation of is the imminent arrival of the next installment in the illustrious Fabric mix series. Fabric 55 has none other than former Skull Disco label boss and current stable-member of the legendary techno label Perlon, Shackleton.
Shackleton has applied the Ricardo Villalobos formula to his mix, creating a composition of his own trademark middle-eastern dub-tec beats over the mix's 22 tracks. Expect a slew of unreleased material when the release drops on December 6th 2010, but get in there quick because some of these tracks will never see the light of day outside this mix, as Shackleton explains: "Some of the tracks are re-jigged versions of older material, some of them are new. Some of them will never see a release in any form aside from this. Some of them are not even tracks just coincidental parts merging with each other between tracks. Those are the best bits actually."
Here's Shackleton's acclaimed Three EP's to get your juices percolating, while you wait for what is sure to be a landmark in a mix series with 100+ installments to date.
In our bid to rule the online world I'm in the process of creating a sine/square/saw Youtube channel. This will feature our favourite music promos, interviews and other video-related curious and will soon be coming to a digi-box near you hopefully replacing that rubbish shopping channel (the one that's not QVC) or at very least the slot currently occupied by 'Dickinson's Real Deal' on weekday afternoons.
Any suggestions for suitably interesting/funny vids pop them on the Facebook page
Getting daily more excited about the upcoming Toothsayer night. Almost worringly so, if my anticipation goes on to build in this exponential manner it might just rupture something vital. One of my housemates gets so excited before we put on a houseparty that by the time people begin to arrive 4 hours later than invited, she has exhausted herself, has a little cry and has to go to bed. So if you see me bedewing the Volks with me tears cut me some slack. Mole's even promise to get time off the day job to be my date (we shall see).
As well as the legendary Action Jackson, Steve 412 (don't ask what the numbers mean I did) you can catch Danglo and High Rankin underneath the 'world's oldest operating electric railway' .
Danglo is the man putting on the night. I have never had the chance to see him play out but am loving his mixes, such as this saucy blighter below.
Headlining this motley cohort is High Rankin. Humour in credible dance music is something of a rare treat, with far too much seriousness abounding. Germany being the largest exporter of innovative tunes until recently probably didn't help much. The Germs, for all their excellent work, do tend towards a certain taut functionality that doesn't easily lend itself to lightheartedness. Not something you could say of High Rankin.
Listening to his Cut You Down EP I found myself thinking Flying Lotus might have sound like this had he been born in Brighton, of English Pop ancestry rather than American Jazz royalty and trying to ween himself of a particularly nasty addiction to penny sweets. That is a compliment from a bombast Mr Rankin. (Follow link to listen to EP in full)
A little too scatty and day-glo neon in places, but moments of great production and hopefully just the thing for a raucous school night
Here are few words exchanged between me and Danglo for your entertainment and cultural enrichment:
What was the first tune you went crazy for/made you want to make music?
I’d say the tune that got me into dance music was probably Fat Boy Slim – Right Here Right Now. When my older sister had “I’m number 1, So why try Harder?"
But maybe… ‘Full Throttle’ by Prodigy. For some reason I went mental for that when I was 10. I didn’t have a clue what I was listening to but I knew I liked it.
So your Toothsayer night, do you have an ideology/desire to change the face of clubbing forever or are you just in it for some extra pocket money?
I do it for the money and the bitches. Straight up.
Real. Everyone seems to be heading to Bucharest for their samples nowadays. What is it about the Balkan sound that is appealing?
The Balkan sound is impossible not to dance to. At first I felt it was a bit gimmicky. But it just makes sense. If you get something that impossible not to dance to, add more bass and a club friendly kick. You’re away.
Give us one of your current favourite tunes. What makes it so damn good?
My new favourite is The Martin Brothers – Steal Drums.
Everyone likes a song title with a pun in it.
It crosses that tricky line, being minimal house, but being MASSSIVE at the same time. How is that possible? Minimal but Massive.
Do you think the job of the DJ has become easier due to the internet?
It means there is loads of great tunes at your fingertips, but it also means there is loads more crap getting in our nails, my god, there is a lot of crap to sift through. My job as a DJ is to sift through loads of crap and hope to come out with a little nugget of gold. And then another nugget of gold. Until I make a massive wall of gold.
Now High Rankin has brought to our attention ‘Meow Meow’s’ penis rotting affects, what as a responsible adult would you advise the kidz to ingest with their dance music?
Cranberry Juice. It’s Healthy and sorts out the inevitable Cistitis.
You heard it here first horselords. What can we expect in the future from Toothsayer and Danglo Jackson?
I’m planning to set up Toothsayer at some Festivals next summer. Get on some stages. Play some music. That way we can put music on in the sunshine AND in the night time. Oh, and I DJed in Estonia a few weeks back, and that was great. So I’m gunna of throw a Clubnight in Estonia. I love it there, their bathroom floors are heated. Why would you ever leave the bathroom if the floor was heated?
Myself, I’m going to keep producing tracks. I had a mate come over and play some saxophone last night. I’m looking forward to chopping that up and making it groovy. I might put a kick drum, a snare drum and possibly a hi-hat over it and see how it goes. Oh, and a bassline.
Love a nice bita sax. Thanks for your time mate, looking forward to the night.
We feel it's time to spread some love across the blogosphere and will be dedicating a new feature to some worthy blogs that we've stumbled across over the years. They might be about music and culture and stuff (much like our humble site), they might be the ravings of a madman. The critera is quite loose.
That said and done, our very first pick belongs in the former category. Yardcore is a collective of four London Djs: Codeshift, Mashforcash, Rrritalin and Dj Rum. They've been playing dancefloors since 2006, as well as putting on parties showcasing their favourite producers from all corners of the electronic music scene.
They have a regular monthly online radio session on SubFM which they’ve been doing since March ’08, and you can find the archive of previous sessions on the site.
Here's the most recently blogged SubFM session for your aural pleasure:
Milyoo – Dasein The Mercenary – Bagheera JFK & St Mandrew – Beehive Zombies for Money – Sacanagem (Drop Top Remix) Ed Royal feat. Badkat – Pussy JFK & St Mandrew – Towel Swinger Filthy Rehab – Old Skool Filth (Dan Thomas Remix) Proxy – Dancing In The Dark (Dubstep Refix) Drop The Lime – Devils Eyes (Kanji Kinetic Remix) Party Dark – Is That You (Akira Kiteshi Remix)
———
DjRUM‘s ghetto-tek mashup featuring tracks by:
Dj Funk Dj Clent Waxmaster Dj Assault Dj Slugo Blaxican Jammin Gerald Dj PJ Dj Hyperactive Dj Godfather
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Codeshift – including tracks by:
Sylvain Cheveau Lamb Svarte Greiner Philip Glass Hecq Penderecki Jacaszek Helios Murcof D’atachi Ennio Morricone Monster X Trentemoller Broken Note
The only thing that Mixcloud have up their faded sleeves, with which to make even a meagre stand against Souncloud 's imminent world domination, is their Fact Mix Archive. Without it they might as well lay down arms and limp away now.
Here's the latest in a long line of essential short sets. Check out the back catalogue. There's a raw vinyl mix from Pinch, Techy House sex magic from the ever dependable dirty bird Claude VonStroke and a blinder from personal favourite Fantastic Mr Fox, who can do no wrong.
Haven't been to a Vagabondz night in at least a year, but their sticking to their filthy guns, unfortunatley wont be making this due to the inevitable financial difficulties of those who can't be bought (and Digital's hefty ticket price, who do they think they are?) Unless the fine people there want to extend a press pass to the humble purveyors of this modest blog, always been a fan of Digital innit? Great speakers... erm...
Nah only kidding they put on as many good nights as ones that aren't to my taste and we can't all be unrelentingly idealistic, some prefer to have some pocket money for the odd pint, new t-shirt, self-respect etc.
This is certainly going to be one of the good'uns. As well as old Action spinning his magic, which should never be missed by the right-minded, those cheeky Vagabondz are shipping in the ridiculously talented and versitile Stenchman. Check out the boy's range. Couldn't pick out out one tune, so picked many.
Couldn't find a decent full length decent quality version of 'spell on you' but here's a taste, can still hear how sick it is even if it sounds like its coming to us out of a well.
Too good, man's gone take over the world.
Legendary junglist rastafarian Congo Natty is headlining with surport from good old Marcus Nasty, who is always pretty fucking decent and would be quite something if he didn't feel the need to invite every one of his mates to chat inane nonsense over his solid beats. "When it comes to the eruption, I don't need no introduction" Though we could give MC Majestic the benefit of the doubt and credit him with a sophisticate sense of irony, with which he laudable critiques bad grammar and crass sexuality in one fell swoop, lets not, and leave him sounding like a rapist. I don't think its much less than he deserves. What is it about bass music the makes decent producers give their mates (who sound as if the took far too many pills in the formative years of adolescence) free reign to their inspid thoughts or at times hilariously bad rhymes.
For an example of decent lyricism you could try and break into MF Doom's gig at Concorde 2 15/10/10, which unfortunately sold out before I got a golden ticket. Not something think Mr Majestic will be achieving without a radical change of direction.
(All links blossom into other tabs of intrigue and wonder)
Its been something of a hard week for yours truly, with winter seeming to suddenly press in closer and the realisations that:
- In some respects I'm something of a dickhead:
- That I'm probably going to have to move to Newport as, unbeknown to me, it is obviously the epicentre of all cultural innovation. Attempting to cover cutting edge electronica from any other position in the mulitverse is surely bound to prove worse than futile:
...and cruelly, how much I fancy my mate on the eve she emmigrates to Spain. Always the way isn't it?
So here are some tunes from the bluer side of the electonic spectrum, as you try and see Autumn as poetic rather than just an unwelcomly abrupt end to summer. More bedroom listening than dancefloor destroying. Would throw a little gentle banter at the Mole encouraging him to pick up this theme as well - old rascal's bound to have some absolute gems up his sleeve. But alas, he's sunnning his fur in the south of France, so is probably still revelling in sunshine vibes and their soundtrack.
Burial's obviously the undisputed Overlord of the break-up beat, the muffled melody of melancholia, but we all know this - so I won't bother mentioning him. Anyway, some of these guys have more of a whistful side, a knowledge that sun, festivals and scantily clad girls will be with us again before we can say 'seasonal affective disorder'. (Whilst Burial seems to have never recovered from a vicious comedown, where there's no hope left for anyone, anywhere... ever again. Poor chap. Someone should let him know about 5htp.)
I've been listening to Mount Kimbie's album Crooks and Lovers so much recently. Released on Suba's Hotflush record label, it does even more for me than the label boss's Triangulation. Its not all bluetronica but certainly has a leaning that way that I really like. Before I move off stirs lethargicaly out of plucked strings reminicent of one of my favourite ambient producers ever Julien Neto, into something Bonoboesque but with deliciously cut up vocals. Blind Night Errand starts off with the nearest thing to a bit of dancefloor suitable moodiness and propulsion, but as if not able to maintain this aggression, soon fades into a more gentle tone in keeping with rest of album.
Pariah's brilliant Detroit Falls, is being compared to the work of the late great J Dilla, which is no small potatoes. It equally has another energy for the floor but the emotive soul sample gives it a a pensive depth not often discernable in typical club fare.
More to come soon, but on a more optimistic note here's the video forMount Kimbie's Would Know, also on Crooks and Lovers but distinctly more cheerful. Tropical teenage crushdom:
Though this blog is dedicated to electronic bytes of sustenance, every really great DJ from Villalobos to Matt Edwards knows when to throw in something from outside their conventional electronic genre to give their set breadth and make a nod to a world beyond ill-lit basements.
The aforementioned Action Jackson has been known to send the dance floor whirling like a dervish with a cheeky Greek number, something like the tune that accompanies that climactic scene in Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
So here is the first of my recommendations of songs, not dance tunes in the conventional sense, that could be worked into sets. (And in doing so, I invite the seemingly hibernating Mole, to think up some too.)
Tom Waits has the voice of a crusty old pirate who’s dared to do everything you never had the balls to and then a little more you wouldn’t even want to.As Daniel Durchholz put it, sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."
This bad boy, off album Mule Variations, has so many elements, from the rasping brass to the descending swing of the double bass, that could be cut up, sampled or whatever you clever people do, to great effect.
Some sweet action going on with Mr Jackson at the moment. Though he may be one of the soundest fellas I have the pleasure of knowing, I shall try not to allow any understandable bias to creep into my thoughts on his sounds. But, as I’ve just recently said to the man himself, his productions are going from strength to strength.
Haven’t heard him play out for a while. He used to spin some of the best Minimal sets around Brighton, but with many like minded people, I believe from what I’ve heard through grapevines, his new sets are now moving, from a kinda ethno-techno vibe, to the stuff showcased in these two lovely tunes. UK Funky? Not sure what to call it, but Mr Mole and I are super feeling it at the moment and will be posting more of it up soon.
So, without further ado... here are two tunes by Action for the delight of your ears:
He has generously promised me to keep us up to date with when he’s playing out...
If you lucky enough to be hittin-upOutlook Festivalyou can catch him there, With other such likely looking chaps as Skream, Pinch, Scuba, Shackleton, 2562, Roska (video below), Ramadanman, Pangea, Untold, etc etc etc . Wish I could be there but prior Cuban commitments.
Otherwise watch this space for when and where Action is playing out nearer to home.
After his self-titled debut rode the crest of the Dubstep wave into mainstream consciousness and daytime airplay on Radio 1 (and the high level of quality maintained with his five Skreamizm Eps), I was pretty excited at the release of the Croydon lad’s ‘difficult’ second album.
On listening to the first two tracks on Outside The Box my excitement only intensified. After the lush opener, Skream enlists LA rapper Murs on second track 8bit Baby. I wasn’t familiar with Murs, but he’s good, spitting with enough aggression to give tune an edge and pace without resorting to any gangsta posturing. The production on this tune is top notch, recognisable as the boy who virtually became ‘Mr Dubstep’ with his debut, but updated with a gloss of the sounds which are making bass music’s permutations so exciting at the moment.
I have always thought of Skream as a mere babe, as he produced the titanic, seminal self-titled debut at such a prodigious age, but on checking up on things, he has aged at a pretty normal rate and now can firmly be considered an adult. As a grown-up, however, he should know better than the excessive use of vocoder present on this album. There’s nought wrong with a little vocoder here and there, but you need to be very subtle or innovative with the effects or you end up sounding like you’re making a cultural nod to Dane Bowers.
Later in the album the gentler Fields of Emotion flows into I Love The Way You love Me, the title suggesting Skream is a little more happily settled than when he penned tracks such as Tortured Soul. Whilst Where You Should Be makes you squirm uncomfortably at its self-indulgent crooning, the beat of I Love... bumps along well, breaking into a little Jungle at the end. More the auditory equivalent of coming up with your girlfriend next to decent bass bins. The Jungle continues with first single Listenin’ To The Records On My Wall (trippy video below) showing a consideration for the album form with set movements and developing motifs.
Wibbler like no nonsense varnish does what it says on the tin, no fannying around, it’s squarely aimed at the dance floors and I imagine it’ll grace a few. The doomy Metamorphosis makes way for Finally feat. La Roux, which despite having ‘single’ rather gratuitously daubed all over it is really quite decent. Without the catchiness of the Skream remix of La Roux’s In For The Kill, it’s not going to achieve such crossover success, but pop-music would be in much ruder health with more stuff like this displacing the usual drivel inflicted upon our ears.
The ever insightful Mole remarked in passing that, though possessing that sought after pop-sensibility, some of the tunes feel a little hurried despite the polished production. Though crowded with deftly programmed beats and synths to encourage heads to nod and feet to shuffle and skip across the dance floor, on revisiting the debut, it’s clear that Outside The Box doesn’t quite live up to its predecessor or the excellent Skreamizm Eps.
Outside the Box misses some the darkness and swagger off the first album, but with any debut, all the ideas that have been brimming in a creative mind find vent, making the second album a notoriously tricky affair. Skream has gone from a young man trying to break into the scene and make his crust, to a fully paid up member of the dance music establishment. So it’s understandable that some of the anger and attitude that gave birth to Tortured Soul and burst forth in the gun shots of the anthemic Midnight Request Line has now subsided.
This is gona be sweeter than suger coated honey. Put on by the ridiculously lovely Playgroup people, grab one of the thousand tickets if there's still any left, got mine.
Friday 13 August 2010 Saturday 14 August 2010 Sunday 15 August 2010
A secret mystery bus trip / The most beautiful spot within 30 miles of Brighton / A secret theme / Live Music / Film / Games / Art / Relaxation / Crazy dancing / Storytelling/ Night-time displays / Good local simple produce / Over 350 musicians, performers, artists and crew / A well-stocked reasonably priced quality bar / Ambushes
The first year of the Playgroup Festival is small and friendly. Not weird you out friendly, but the kind of friendly that is an excellent three-day party.
The kind of friendly where you discover a lot of great new live music. Bands you’ll really love who are playing just for you, not the TV cameras.
The kind where you see a bit of magic. The kind where silly stuff happens that makes you laugh. The kind where you join in if you want, or chill out if you want.
It really is your festival – it is being made by the goodwill and generosity of a lot of the City of Brighton & Hove.
It’s a magical mystery bus ride for a long weekend.
We have chosen to start small.
It’s going to work better that way.
So, if you want to come, snap up one of the few golden tickets now.
While a torrent of superlatives breaks about Joy Orbison’sHyph Mngo( a very pleasant track, which emerges out of hazy synth, to bump along with a kinda warm nostalgia) the real gem in this nascent sound is this track. Mr Fox having come to my attention via his fantastic mix on the vital Electronic Explorations weekly radio show, I’ve been seeking out his productions since. This track with his frequent collaborator, fellow Mancunian Richie Rich is particularly lush. Strutting brass hints at Mr Fox’s past creating leftfield hip-hop whilst the twin basslines boom and wriggle respectively around the ghostly central refrain. UK Funky? Wonky? You’d have to consult the Mole but its damn good. Fantastic Mr Fox will shortly be releasing his debut E.P. Sketches on the Black Acre label who also bring to us the quality Blue Daisy whose beautiful track Detached Strings can be heard on the Fantastic Mr Fox edition of Electronic Explorations linked to above, which you should definitely check out.
All material featured is for evaluation purposes, aimed to help promote the artists/labels featured by encouraging others to buy and support their music/art. If you do own any of the material and would like it removed for any reason then please contact me (bloomfield85@hotmail.co.uk) asap and I will do so immediately.
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...oh go on, one more for luck:
